On Saturday, Aug. 31, the 19th-ranked Miami Hurricanes will travel to The Swamp to take on the Florida Gators for the first time since 2008. The Gators won that contest, 26-3.
Miami and Florida met most recently in 2019 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla., which saw the Gators nip the Hurricanes, 24-20.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Series Began: 1938 in Gainesville, Fla.
Series History: Miami leads the series 29-27
Recent History: The Hurricanes have won seven of the last 10 meetings.
Winningest Coach in the Series: Miami head coach Andy Gustafson had nine wins from 1948 through 1963.
Current Win Streak: Florida holds a one game wining streak.
Largest Victory: Florida owns the largest win between the teams, a 46-6 blowout in 1940 in Miami.
A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME
The football programs of the University of Miami and the University of Florida used to meet in a home-and-home series every year from 1938 through 1987. The series went on hiatus until 2001, but that didn’t last long with only three meetings taking place since 2004.
Florida coach Steve Spurrier wanted to revive the series when he was hired in 1990, but then the university backed out of any deal in 1992 due to changes within the SEC, similar to what we are seeing this year with all the conference realignment.
But while this matchup hasn’t seemed like much of a priority for either school, it was at one time such an important rivalry game that when most other schools postponed their games the day after President John F. Kennedy was killed in 1963, Miami and Florida went ahead and played anyways.
BATTLE FOR THE CANOE
During the heyday of the rivalry, the Hurricanes and Gators played for the Seminole War Canoe, which was a canoe carved out of a 200-year old Everglades cypress tree that was struck by lightning.
Originally introduced in 1955 to symbolize the spirit of the Florida Seminole tribe, the canoe was given to the winner of the game until 1987 when, after Miami won, they kept the canoe and put it in their Hall of Fame. Their rationale? The canoe should be awarded the winner of the home-and-home series and, since that ended in 1987, they should keep the canoe.
The University of Florida’s Student Council approved and sent a message to the University of Miami in 2011 asking for the canoe back after winning the 2008 game, but Miami responded with a message that essentially said “if you don’t play us every year, we’ll just keep the canoe, thank you”.
HIGHLIGHT MOMENT
1980: Miami 31, Florida 7
The Hurricanes trekked to Gainesville to take on the 18th-ranked Florida Gators hoping to steal a win from a ranked team, but ended up dominating the entire game. Finding themselves pleased with their performance, Miami players started celebrating on the sidelines, much to the chagrin of the home fans. So the Florida fans responded in the most Florida way possible – throwing oranges at the Hurricanes. Head coach Howard Schellenberger became so upset that he sent his field goal team out on the field late in the game to add three more points on to the scoreboard to rub it in.
2024 MATCHUP
Date: Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024
Site: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium – Gainesville, Fla.
Time: 3:30pm ET
TV: ABC
Streaming: ESPN3 and ESPN+
FOOTBALL SCHEDULES
I want to watch the Miami-Florida football game on ABC.
Don’t worry. You can.
Fantastic choice for ABC to show Miami-Florida game hope you enjoy it Terrence.
I wanted it to be for Saturday Night Football.
I wanted Michigan vs Fresno State on CBS however CBS will have lots & lots of fantastic 3:30PM Big Ten games.